Legacy of the Wind
by Ryo-Oni1
Summary: You could call this an alternate ending to the series' plot (though I have no idea how it ends), and my take on the future of the characters...wow, and it's not hentai! Read & review and all that!


Legacy of the Wind  
by Ryo-Oni  
  
Chapter 1 - Into the Fire  
  
  
Trees were such odd things. They grew from tiny little seeds buried deep in the ground, then they just sprung up one day, like magic, and grew into giant, rough things with leaves and branches. They had such a double personality, looking beautiful and welcoming in the day, yet they seemed to have fun masquerading as monsters after the sun set. They grew such nice leaves, letting them sit in the sun and play in the breeze, only to watch them fall to the ground and die. Trees must be so sad, watching their tiny buds grow into beautiful leaves, always knowing that one day all too soon they would fall off and rot away.  
Shippo sighed to himself as he sat against the sturdy trunk of a tree that had been a seedling in times long before even Shippo's father was born. The young fox youkai stretched lazily, his fluffy tail waving around behind him.   
"Shippo-chan!" A voice nearby called. The little kitsune hopped to his feet and ran toward the voice, finding Miroku sitting beneath a tree.  
"Is Inu-Yasha back yet?" Shippo asked, hopping a bit. Miroku shook his head.  
"No, not yet. He's still off following Naraku's scent."   
"Think he'll find anything?" Shippo asked. The monk shook his head.  
"Probably just another trap that he'll struggle his way out of."  
"At this rate, we'll never find Naraku..." Shippo said with a sigh, leaning against a tree.  
"That's where you're wrong, little fox." A voice came from the nearby forest. Shippo looked over, surprised, but Miroku didn't even twitch.  
"Good afternoon, Kikyo-sama." Miroku greeted the emerging priestess without even looking up.   
"You are perceptive as ever." Kikyo said with a bit of a smirk. The monk stood slowly, turning toward Kikyo.   
"You weren't exactly trying for stealth, I take it?"  
"Indeed, I was not. We may be able to trap Naraku." Kikyo replied. Miroku raised a brow.  
"Is that so? And why are you suddenly so anxious to trap him?" The monk questioned, receiving a stern look from Kikyo.  
"That it none of your concern, hoshi-sama." Kikyo replied, a bit of anger showing on her usually emotionless face. The hoshi shrugged, standing up and leaning on his staff.  
"Shippo-chan, run back to the camp and get the others." Miroku instructed. Shippo nodded, and scampered off with a quick 'hai!', moving quickly in the direction of the group's camp site.  
The hoshi turned to face the semi-human woman. "So, miko-sama, what is your plan?"  
"Do not worry about what I plan to do. Just be ready with your friends." Kikyo replied, "I will lead you to Naraku and make sure you get a chance to fight him without his detachments or his trickery. You and your friends must take it from there."  
"I see. Then wish us luck. We may need it."  
  
About 15 minutes later, the group, with the exception of the still-absent Inu-Yasha, had assembled around Kikyo and Miroku, and received Kikyo's sparse instructions. With a general nod of agreement, Kikyo pointed the way, and after securing a promise that Kikyo would follow shortly, the group set off. It was a considerable distance through the forest to the place that Kikyo had reported as Naraku's base (after his castle had been destroyed by a particularly clever assault,) but the journey was reasonably pleasant, as it was a nice evening and the setting sun cast an orange glow on the rich green forest.   
Shippo ran quickly alongside Kagome, taking to the forested terrain like, well, a fox to the forest. He smiled to himself as the group made it's way along, wondering why he was the only one that seemed to be enjoying the scenery. He sighed softly and shook his head. Grown-ups just didn't know how to relax and have fun.  
  
Inu-Yasha growled softly to himself, surveying what had, two hours ago, been a campsite. He slammed his fist into a nearby tree, looking around once more and sniffing at the air. It would be simple to track his friends, but it was terribly frustrating for them to run off like that.   
Inu-Yasha turned his head quickly, glancing back over his shoulder as he heard a sound behind him, just the slightest of rustlings, but enough to draw his attention. Instinctively, his hand reached for his sword, closing around the hilt. The sword's blade slid smoothly from it's scabbard, giving off a bright yellow light as it transformed itself. Inu-Yasha sniffed the air once more and frowned. A human scent, coming from the tree he had so recently punched (and put quite a nasty dent in.)   
After another moment or so, there was another rustle from one of the tree's higher, and smaller, branches, followed by a high-pitched, distressed sound, then a loud snap as the branch broke. Inu-Yasha sighed and dropped Tetsusaiga. In a swift, smooth motion, Inu-Yasha leapt forth, catching the falling human, and kicking the branch away. Inu-Yasha landed in a crouch, looking down at the creature he had just rescued. It was a rather small human girl, couldn't be more than ten or eleven. She had long black hair, some of which was gathered up into a manner of a ponytail on the side of her head. She wore a checkerboard kimono of orange and cream with a strange green pattern that looked something like interlocking bubbles. The girl's eyes were wide with fear, and it took her several minutes to realize that she was not going to hit the ground. That is, until Inu-Yasha dropped her, though not too hard.  
The girl landed with a grunt of annoyance and glared up at Inu-Yasha, then scrambled to her feet. Inu-Yasha frowned deeply and sniffed at the girl a bit, then growled.  
"You wreak of Sesshoumaru." Inu-Yasha said, grabbing the girl by the collar. She struggled a bit, looking thoroughly annoyed.   
"Sesshoumaru-sama left me here to wait for you." The girl stated, "He said it was dangerous where he was going."  
"And where is that?"  
"To fight Naraku with your friends." The girl replied. Inu-Yasha gaped and let go of the girl's kimono. She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out, but Inu-Yasha was far too surprised by the news to administer the traditional thwack upon the human's head. He quickly picked Tetsusaiga up, replacing it in the scabbard, and took off running in the direction his friends had gone, leaving the little human girl behind.  
  
Sesshoumaru moved swiftly and silently, following the group of Inu-Yasha's cohorts. The miko Kikyo had been kind enough to inform the demon of her plan to defeat Naraku as well, which had, naturally, drawn Sesshoumaru's interest, as Naraku was a significant threat, even to one of the greatest youkai currently living. Once Naraku was out of the way, perhaps Sesshoumaru would finally be able to increase his power and rid himself of his younger brother. That, however was a concern he would deal with later, for now the battle was about to start.   
  
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks, looking around the clearing the group had just entered. She reached to her back, almost instinctively, retrieving an arrow.  
"What is it, Kagome-chan?" Miroku asked, looking at her. Kagome frowned, and brought her bow up, aiming at a tree directly ahead. She fired the arrow, the arrowhead being surrounded by pink energy just after leaving the bow, soaring through the air and striking the tree directly in the middle of the trunk. In an explosion of holy light, the tee seemed to actually writhe in pain, crying out in agony as the light consumed it, then it fell still.  
"I sensed a Shikon shard." Kagome replied as she stepped toward the tree. The bark seemed to be charred, the entire tree petrified by the blast of holy energy, and now, in the middle of the trunk, was a large hole, big enough for a normal-sized man to simply step through. the hole was filled with a strange energy, twisting and rippling in a dozen shades of blues and reds. Kagome reached out, retrieving a tiny shard of a pink, glass-like substance.  
"It's the entrance to Naraku's new base." Came a voice from behind. The group turned as one, and found Kikyo standing there. "I have already dispelled the traps guarding the entrance. You will find him inside."  
"Why are you suddenly helping us like this?" Sango asked, her face betraying distrust, though more of Naraku's base than of Kikyo. Kikyo frowned.  
"Let us say that I am making up for a mistake." She replied, "I will remain here and hinder Naraku's tricks. He has several Youkai inside, however, so be on your guard." With that, Kikyo stepped into the shadows and seemed to disappear. Kagome nodded and turned back toward the tree, stepping forward and hesitantly pushing her arm through the portal. After a moment, she stepped through and disappeared.  
  
The other side of the portal was a wasteland, or so it seemed at first glance. It was a large field with grass, flowers, and a few scattered trees, but the beauty that such things would bring was ruined by a simple fact: They were all stone. The entire field had been turned to charred, black rock. Along the sides of the path upon which Kagome now stood, stone daisies stood, frozen in mid-sway among blades of earthen grass. A stone butterfly sat upon one of the petrified petals. A squirrel was frozen, half-way up a tree trunk. It was a nightmare.  
"What happened?" Shippo asked in surprise as he stepped through, followed by Sango and Miroku.   
"I..don't know." Kagome replied, standing in shock at the sight. For several moments, all was silent, until Kagome noticed a soft sound. Somewhere nearby, someone was crying. Kagome's eyes scanned the field of stone, looking for the source of the sound. Her eye caught a bit of color among the sea of blackened stone, perhaps 30 feet away, and she moved toward it. She regretted her first step into the stony grass. It was hard and sharp, poking her shoes as she stepped on it before breaking into pieces, the blades around her scratching at her legs. After a moment, she took another step, more carefully now, trying to avoid being further scratched.   
After a minute or two of walking, she got close enough to see the source of the sound. A small form lay curled up amongst the stone grass, sobbing softly. When Kagome stepped within a few feet of the small creature, it sat up straight, looking up at her, surprised. Kagome stopped.  
The creature seemed to be a young boy, perhaps 10 years of age by Kagome's guess, with shoulder-length platinum blond hair. His eyes, however, were not quite human. They were bright orange in color, large and almost cat-like in appearance, staring at her in something between surprise and fear. The boy's skin was pale, in contrast to his brightly-colored eyes, and he was very small and slender. He wore a tunic and something akin to a long loincloth made of a light brown material. The last thing Kagome noticed about the boy was his ears, which were a bit abnormal, arching back an extra 6 inches, coming to graceful points behind his head.   
"Are you all right?" Kagome asked, in a gentle tone. The boy just stared at her for a moment before jumping to his feet and trying to run away. He took all of one step before he let out a shriek of pain as a blade of stone grass sliced the sole of his bare foot. Kagome reached out an caught him as he began to fall, caught off-balance. She picked the boy up, amazed at how light he was, even for someone who looked so thin. She was also surprised when he began to squirm in her arms. "Stay still!" Kagome ordered, annoyed, as she quickly moved back to the dirt path, and knelt, placing the boy on the ground. He immediately tried to get up, and immediately fell back down with a cry of pain.   
Kagome quickly dug through her backpack and withdrew a first aid kit, taking out a long cloth bandage and some disinfectant. Sango made her way over, with Kiara in tow, and knelt beside the boy.  
"Is this your home?" Sango asked. The boy nodded, seeming to have decided that fleeing was not a good choice of action in his current condition. "What's your name?"  
"Engei." The boy answered, then cringed as Kagome applied the disinfectant. "Oww! That hurts!" He shouted, flinching.  
"It'll help it heal faster." Kagome commented as she wrapped the injured foot in the cloth bandage. "There. You'll be fine soon."  
"Is there a man named Naraku here?" Miroku asked, standing behind Kagome. The Engei nodded.  
"You know Naraku-sama?" Engei asked. "He promised to protect my friends...but now they're all dead."   
"Your friends?" Kagome asked as she put her first aid kit away. Engei nodded and looked over at a petrified squirrel.   
"All of the animals." He said sadly. Kagome sighed.  
"I didn't know the tree had a forest when I shot it." Kagome said quietly. Engei didn't seem to hear her.  
"How far is it to Naraku's castle?" Miroku asked. Engei thought for a moment before answering. "Not far. It's on the other side of the forest."  
"Good. Let's move." Miroku said. Kagome nodded and stood, along with Sango.   
"Kiara, stay here with Engei." Sango instructed the tiny cream-colored fox-like creature. Kiara chirped and nodded, hopping into Engel's lap. Engei and Kiara stared at each other for a moment before Kiara curled up in the boy's lap, managing to make Engei smile a bit. Sango watched the boy and her 'pet' for a short while before turning back to the rest of her group, and beginning down the dirt path toward the enemy. 


End file.
